Delmia Robotics at Volvo PDF

Virtual Commissioning of an Existing
Manufacturing Cell at Volvo Car Corporation

Using DELMIA V6
Master’s Thesis in the Master Degree Programme
Systems, Control and Mechatronics
Heidari Ali
Salamon Oliver
Automation Group
Department of Signals and Systems
CHALMERS UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY
Göteborg, Sweden 2012
Report No. EX023/2012
MASTER’S THESIS
Virtual Commissioning of an Existing Manufacturing Cell at

Volvo Car Corporation Using DELMIA V6
Master’s Thesis under Master Degree Programme

Ali Heidari - Oliver Salamon
Department of Signals and Systems

CHALMERS UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY
Göteborg, Sweden 2012
Abstract
Virtual commissioning is a process which allows a comprehensive evalu-
ation of production systems before performing physical commissioning. The
programmable logic controller (PLC) code can be debugged before using it
in a real production system. A growing number of companies have recently
started taking interest in this technology as it reduces the time and cost of
introducing new products and different scenarios can be performed to vali-
date the manufacturing controllers in the virtual environments prior to the
physical commissioning.
This work discusses an approach to create and simulate an existing Body-
in-White manufacturing workcell in Volvo Car Corporation (VCC) using
Dassault Systèmes digital manufacturing and production solution DELMIA
V6. Also the migration process of other 3D model formats such as Process
Simulate, CATIA V4, and V5 into DELMIA V6 has been investigated. It is
shown that it is possible to create a simulation using the given resources; all
models could be used. Also, a large amount of the robot functionality could
be imported after editing certain functions which are not supported. One
of the substantial properties for a successful simulation model is to replicate
the actual controller, robot programs and HMI applications. These aspects
of the Dassault Systèmes PLM solution are validated in this project. The
latest release of DELMIA V6 is also tested in terms of connectivity to an
actual PLC through the OPC communication protocol.
Keywords: Virtual Commissioning, Product Lifecycle Management, DELMIA

V6, 3D-modeling, PLC, RAPID programs, Volvo Car Corporation cell.
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II , Department of Signals and Systems, Master’s Thesis
Contents
Abstract I
Contents III
Acknowledgements IV
1 Introduction 1
1.1 Limitations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
1.2 Cell Description . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
2 Workcell 3D Model 7
2.1 Cell Layout . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
2.2 Creating Kinematics & Device Building . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
2.3 Resource Hierarchy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
2.4 Attachments & Mechanical Ports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
2.5 Simulation Logic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
2.6 Discussion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
3 Importing Robot Geometry and Programs 14

3.1 Robot Programs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
3.2 Discussion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
4 PLC 18
4.1 Hardware Preparation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
4.2 Software Preparation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
4.3 OPC Configuration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
4.4 Discussion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
5 Final Simulation 25
6 Conclusion & Future work 27
A Appendix 31
A.1 Resource types in DELMIA V6 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
A.2 Manual for Running the Simulation in DELMIA V6 . . . . . . . . . 32
A.3 Manual for Running the PLC Program . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
A.3.1 Setting up the PLC program . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
A.3.2 Monitoring Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
A.3.3 OPC Configuration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
A.4 List of Figures and Tables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
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Acknowledgements
We would like to acknowledge and extend our heartfelt gratitude to the following
persons, because without their effort, the completion of the project would not have
been possible.
Foremost we would like to thank our academical supervisor at Chalmers, Mo-
hammad Reza Shoaei, for honestly taking interest in our thesis, always being avail-
able to help us and discuss different problems, offer constant supervision and for
always making sure everything is well with the project. We would also like to thank
our academical project examiner, Petter Falkman for entrusting us with this thesis,
for your guidance and constructive comments, and for helping with all necessary
arrangements.
We are also very grateful to our industrial examiner, Stefan Axelsson at Volvo
Car Corporation in Torslanda for keeping in touch with us during the whole project,
providing the Mitsubishi PLC and sharing his expertise by providing a lot of help
regarding the models, robots and the PLC. We also appreciate that he found the
time to invite us over to the Torslanda factory several times and gave us a very
interesting factory tour. We are also very thankful to Håkan Pettersson for his
help, cooperation and providing the OPC program for our project.
From the Dassault Systèmes side, we would like to express our sincere grati-
tude to our industrial supervisor Anthony Hairon for the very comprehensive sup-
port with the DELMIA side of the project and for spending many hours and late
evenings helping us whenever it was necessary. Also our thanks to Hans Eriks-
son at Dassault Systèmes in Göteborg and Edouard Pardieu for their contribution
which made this project possible.
Göteborg, 2012
Ali Heidari
Oliver Salamon
IV , Department of Signals and Systems, Master’s Thesis

1 Introduction
Manufacturing systems can be analyzed and verified using a digital prototype of a
physical model. Production simulation is performed in different ways depending on
the problem type which is going to be studied. There are different names for these
methods depending on the business or organization. Some of these names are:
Virtual Manufacturing, Virtual Commissioning, Digital Production and Digital
Plant.
Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) is an integrated and information driven
approach to all aspects of a product from its design inception through its manu-
facture, deployment and maintenance, culminating in its removal from service and
final disposal [15]. PLM integrates people, data, processes and business systems
and provides a product information backbone for companies and their extended
enterprise [11][6].
Depending on the industries size and field of activities different solutions can
be used to implement the PLM in different ways. For instance, Teamster AB in
Gothenburg used the free program Google Sketchup to visualize their projects in
the Teamster Robotic Automation department. Google SketchUp is a 3D modeling
program which is designed for architectural, civil, and mechanical engineers as well
as film makers, game developers, and related professions [4], [2]. However Teamster
also uses traditional CAD tools which they are missing in Google SketchUp.
Targeting the mid-size PLM solution, SAP which stands for ”Systems, Ap-
plications, and Products in Data Processing”, was founded in 1972. The SAP
Product Lifecycle Management (SAP PLM) application provides full support for
all product-related processes - from the first product idea, through manufacturing
to product service [8]. SAP has a few disadvantages when it comes to the PLM
market. It has some difficulties with the BOM (Bill of Material) of life cycle man-
agement. SAP’s messaging is also unclear and does not take into account the PLM
functionality that is distributed throughout many applications [3].
Most of the major manufacturing companies in the automotive and trucking
industry, such as Volvo Trucks, Volvo Car, Scania and BMW, are using enterprise
solutions such as Dassault Systèmes DELMIA [1] and Siemens Teamcenter Process
Simulate [7]. These software give the user more opportunities to validate the
feasibility of an assembly process by checking reachability and collision clearance.
These software allow manufacturers to virtually define, plan, create, monitor and
control all production processes.
Today, the development of PLM software has encouraged companies to virtually
build and simulate their production processes. This makes it possible to have the
physical attributes of the production right from the start. Robots and their pro-
gram can be simulated and verified in a virtual environment, for instance, Dassault
Systèmes DELMIA has the ability to import and modify the robot programs from
various robot manufacturers. Actual PLC programs can be evaluated and tested
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against different scenarios using the virtual manufacturing model connecting via
the OPC protocol.
Often writing the PLC program comes as the last phase in the construction of a
production cell, when the mechanical and electrical parts are already finished. This
yields a tedious and time consuming task for automation engineers to write and
verify the PLC programs. Using the simulation software can help to concurrently
develop and verify the PLC code while the cell is being constructed.
Virtual commissioning is the use of an accurate and realistic 3D simulation to
validate the functions of production equipment control systems prior to actual im-
plementation. The automation engineer can easily connect a Programmable Logic
Controller (PLC) to the 3D model and debug the PLC code before it is placed into
production [10]. Virtual commissioning environments offer engineers new oppor-
tunities for the design of complex intelligent behaviors and for the enhancement
of the performance of adaptive manufacturing systems. Virtual commissioning
tools are used to virtually explore new solution spaces for improving performance
of mechatronic systems [13]. The need of implementing virtual commissioning is
arising from the complexity of the production systems. Manufacturers and big
companies prefer to examine and evaluate a system in virtual reality by virtual
prototypes as much as possible before building it in the real world. In this manner
they are able to find the problems and modify the production system.
Virtual commissioning solutions bring some benefits; the most important ones
are the following:
– Validating that equipment meets the required cycle time
– Enabling collaboration between engineering disciplines
– Early operator training before startup
– Rapid development of standards
– Evaluation of the PLC code and the robot programs [10]
The industrial requirements for a successful PLM solution are as follows:
– Real control code: The actual control code for PLCs and robots as well
as the HMI applications shall remain unchanged while embedding them into
the virtual commissioning environment.
– Real engineering tools: The existing engineering tools and languages for
PLC, robot and HMI applications must be kept.
– Embeddability: The virtual commissioning environment shall be seam-

lessly embeddable into existing engineering workflows.
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– Extensibility: Due to a variety of PLCs brands available on the automation
market it must be possible to support several PLC systems. This includes
the extensibility to further PLCs.
– Virtual controllers: The developed robot and PLC programs shall run on
virtual controllers which behave identical to the actual controllers [12].
In summary, PLM is a very high risk solution and implementation and companies
which are evaluating it must be extra careful to select the right product from
PLM markets. In this project DELMIA has been chosen to be studied. It offers
solutions for control engineering and automation lifecycle management that enables
validation of the PLC against a virtual machine, a cell, or an entire line and the
generation of a performance analysis of these systems. In addition to testing and
debugging the PLC code, DELMIA V6 allows control departments to work in
parallel and share information with mechanical and electrical departments earlier
in the development process allowing optimization of engineering processes.
Figure 1.1 illustrates the general structure of the Dassault Systèmes digital
manufacturing solution which consists of different tools for all aspects of a pro-
duction cycle. PPR, which stands for Product, Process and Resources, is Das-
sault Systèmes’ integrated model that interlinks representations of the product,
the manufacturing resources (tooling, factory, operators, etc.) and the production
processes. PPR is a fundamental building block of Dassault Systèmes’ PLM strat-
egy and is found in CATIA, DELMIA, and ENOVIA. This integration means that
when a user makes a product design change in CATIA, the change is reflected in
the associated manufacturing processes definition in DELMIA and the resources
data stored in ENOVIA. In this project only the last two element, Control Engi-
neering and Physical Commissioning, and their connection with an actual PLC are
evaluated.
The general goal of the project is to carry out virtual commissioning using
existing resources such as models and programs. PLC programs, robot programs
and models are to be reused whenever possible. This means evaluating how well the
migration from the currently used software at Volvo Car Corporation into DELMIA
V6 works. It is of interest to see how well the software handles the importing and
exporting of different formats, in order to save as much work and time as possible.
Most of the cell 3D models are provided in Process Simulate file format, and some
individual devices are available as CATIA V4 as well as V5 models. Chapter 2
covers the methodology for creating the 3D model of the cell using DELMIA V6.
Chapter 3 discusses how the robot programs were imported. In chapter 4 it is
covered how the PLC program was prepared for simulation. Finally, conclusions
and future work are presented in chapter 6.

Figure 1.1: The different phases of PLM from a DELMIA perspective
1.1 Limitations
The actual production cell handles three different car models in the same produc-
tion line; V70, S80 and V60. Only the latter car model is used for this project as
it is most recent and therefore has 3D models of the production tools available in
CATIA V5 formats. The pallets transporting the car sides through the factory are
considered stationary in this project, hence when the welded parts are placed on
them, they should be disposed of before the next parts arrive. Also four clamps in
the station are closed manually by the operator, however all will be closed by the
PLC in the simulation. The DELMIA versions used for the project were V6R2012
and later upgraded to V6R2012X.
1.2 Cell Description

The cell used for the project is a part of the production line at Volvo Car Corporation
Body-in-White (BIW) factory in Torslanda, Gothenburg. Figure 1.2 shows a plot
plan of the station and its components: Turn table, two spider assemblies, welder
robot, gripper robot and transport lines. The purpose of the station is to reinforce
the car sides by adding four additional parts, see Figure 1.3. It is manned by one
worker that places the parts into one of two clamping platforms which are attached
to a turntable. There are two different clamping platforms, one for the V60 model

and another one for both S80 and V70. There are 11 air pressure controlled clamps
on the fixture, which is also referred to as spider assembly. The spider assembly
has 5 retractable guiding pins, which help the operator to correctly place the parts.
Two different types of sensors detect whether the parts are in place, 4 photocell
sensors and 7 proximity sensors per spider assembly. The operator closes four of
the clamps manually and pushes a button once all parts have been loaded. Then
the automatic clamps are closed and the turntable is rotated 180◦ , which allows
a robot with a weld gun tool to weld the pieces together through spot welding.
Another robot with one of two different gripper tools is standing by until the weld
operation is finished. Once ready it grabs the part and places it on a pallet at a
rail which transports the car side to the next station. The cell only handles the
passenger side of the car.
Figure 1.2: Plot plan of the station 13-95-050

Figure 1.3: Rendered image showing two different views of the car side (red), and the
four work pieces (grey) which are welded together and placed onto the car
side.

2 Workcell 3D Model
The initial step required for creating a simulation is the creation of a 3D model.
As previously mentioned one of the main goals is to utilize existing models for
this project. It is possible to import a number of different formats into DELMIA.
The software is also backwards compatible meaning it supports formats from pre-
vious versions. Two different types of properties of the file formats should be
distinguished. Formats which are native for CATIA/DELMIA such as .model,
.CATProduct and .3dxml are organized in a tree structure; they can be edited and
can also consist of separate parts. The other type is the graphical representation
formats such as .cgr (CATIA Graphical Representation), .stp/.step and .jt, which
are a lighter non-editable version, and its geometry content is considered as one
unit. This makes the format suitable for objects which are static in the station.
CATIA V5 models were available for the four work pieces, the robot gripper tool
used for V60 and the clamping platforms with all pins and clamps. The turntable
was received as a CATIA V4 model. All the surrounding static resources such as
tool stands, fences and boxes as well as the V60 car side can be extracted from an
existing Process Simulate model and exported in the format .stp which is possible
to import to DELMIA. No CATIA model is available for the weld gun, it was only
received as a 2D drawing. However it is modeled in Process Simulate which makes
it possible to export the mobile and fix components separately.
2.1 Cell Layout

DELMIA has a special workbench for simplified placing of 3D models called ”Re-
source definition and layout”. The manner in which DELMIA handles positions
of models differs from that of Process Simulate. Process Simulate saves models in
the native formats .psz and .zip. The .psz file stores coordinate information asso-
ciated with the model and the .zip file contains the geometries. DELMIA models
contain both types of information in the same file, .3dxml (CATIA V6). When
using .stp models exported from Process Simulate the positioning information is
lost. It is necessary to relocate the object to the correct position with available
tools in DELMIA after importing. As a reference for positioning, 2D drawings can
be utilized if available. It is possible to open .dwg drawing files with DELMIA
V6, and measure the distances between the objects which require positioning. An-
other approach is to use the complete Process Simulate model as a reference. A
lightweight version of the cell with only necessary geometries such as bases can
be exported as a .stp file. In DELMIA this model can be used as a template to
move the desired models by using the ”Snap Resource” function, aligning them
with the template. This approach will guarantee correct distances between objects
in the cell, assuming the Process Simulate model is correct. To achieve correct
”world coordinates”, an origin in the model is defined. The robot programs are

based on absolute coordinates, consequently it is essential to place the origin in
the correct position. Volvo uses two types of coordinates, station coordinates and
factory coordinates. For this project only station coordinates were of importance,
and from the CATIA models it was made clear that the origin is set at the center
of the turntable, on the floor of the factory.
2.2 Creating Kinematics & Device Building
The workbench called ”Device building” is dedicated to modeling mechanical sys-

tems used in manufacturing processes. To create a ”smart device”, joints which
move have to be defined and kinematics are created. All models and sub-models
such as clamps were divided into a fix part, and a mobile part. Each model con-
sists of a varying number of components. The components which are not part of
the mobile piece can be temporarily hidden, after which the remainder (fix part)
can be exported as .cgr, and vice versa for the mobile parts. All these elements
are then merged into one solid part. CGR models are not of as high quality as
their exact view counterpart, but they consume much less memory during the gen-
eration [9]. This is useful when dealing with assemblies involving large amounts
of data, and also simplifies when defining movements. The fix and mobile parts
can be added together into one product file to follow the advocated tree structure
of CATIA. Different types of joint movements created with the tool called ”Engi-
neering Connection”. An engineering connection is based on a set of constraints
between the involved components such as Products, 3D parts or shapes [9]. The
most straightforward approach to create the desired kinematics is by using prede-
fined axis systems. A tool in CATIA V5 called ”Frames of interest” allows creating
axis systems in .cgr models, on exact locations such as the midpoint or the corner
of a face. One axis system is required on the mobile part and another on the fix
part. With the Engineering Connection tool it is possible to choose which type
of joint movement is desired, such as prismatic or revolution. The engineering
connection is created by selecting the axis for the movement, and choosing which
of the elements should be the moving one, as well as the range of the movement.
An example of this can be seen in Figure 2.1.
To enable control of the device a ”Motion controller” is added. This allows
defining desired states of the mechanism, called ”home positions”. Interesting
home positions are the start position and the final position, for instance when a
clamp is closed and opened. A ”task” defines the motion of going from the current
position to a chosen home position. The motion controller also allows the control
of several devices at once, as is the case with the clamps and centering pins on
the spider assembly. A motion group defines which devices are to be controlled
together and have common tasks.

Figure 2.1: A figure showing the ”Engineering Connection Definition” dialog. Also a
list of created engineering connections for the weld gun tool can be seen at
the bottom of the tree.
2.3 Resource Hierarchy

Within DELMIA ”Product” is a pivotal term. A Product is a root element con-
taining other elements such as 3D model parts. These parts can for instance be .cgr
files or any other supported CATIA model formats. In the Resource Definition &
Layout workbench there is a function which can transform existing Products into a
”Resource”. The virtual cell consists of a number of Resources arranged in different
levels of the tree and with different purposes. DELMIA has a number of differ-
ent resource types which have specific properties and functions. The ones used in
this project are explained in Appendix A. Each of the two spider assemblies are
considered separate devices, together with all the clamps, centering pins, sensors
and the metal plate they are positioned on. They should be organized under one
common parent resource. The logic controllers that control the tool devices which
the turntable consists of were placed in the top level of the tree, in the organiza-
tional resource of the cell. An area resource called ”13-95-050-Turntable” contains
a Tool device which is a model of the turntable itself. It also includes the rotary
table that holds both spider assemblies. Lastly, it contains two area resources for

the spider assemblies which in turn contain all the pins, clamps, sensors and the
metal plate geometries. See Figure 2.2.
Figure 2.2: The hierarchical organization of the turntable. An area resource is at the
top level, containing the rotary table, the turntable and the two spider as-
semblies which in turn contain the clamps, guiding pins and sensors.
The approach for the robots differs; an organizational resource holds all related,
the robot resource, the tool, the control device and the logics resources. The whole
organizational resource appears as an entity as seen by the cell. The I/O ports are
connected directly to this resource, unlike the components of the turntable, where
the I/Os are handled by the control devices.
2.4 Attachments & Mechanical Ports

In order to enable different objects to move together attachments between them
must be created. This is done by adding or selecting an existing axis system on each
of them and defining attachment ports. Depending on which of the objects should
move with the other, one will be considered ”Master” and the other one ”Slave”.
Both of the robots are masters while the gripper and weld gun are slaves. The
attachment port (also mechanical port) type should be ”Mount” for the Master
object, and ”Base” for the Slave object. Robots imported from the DELMIA robot
library automatically have attachment ports defined at the correct position. When

the attachment operation is completed it is possible to use the snap option to put
the two objects together, with respect to their respective axis origins.
The same approach was used for the turntable. The two spider assemblies are
attached to the rotary table, which in turn is attached to the mobile part of the
turntable. This means the spider assemblies have base ports, the rotary table has
both mount and base and the turntable has a mount port.
2.5 Simulation Logic

Simulation Logic is created for devices in DELMIA in order to mimic the behav-
ior of their real world counterparts. Actuators such as air valves and servos are
imitated through SFC programs together with device tasks. All devices in the
project have a sequence of possible actions depending on the input. Also outputs
from internal sensors can be modeled in this manner. An example can be seen
in Figure 2.3. It is of importance to distinguish this type of virtual logics from
actual logics which exist in the form of PLC programs. The logics are added to
the associated control device in the ”System & Device Designer” workbench. A
program which controls the whole cell can be implemented in the Logic controller,
which is useful for testing the behavior of the devices before connecting the actual
PLC.
Figure 2.3: Figure showing how PLC signals control the air valves that open and close
the clamps of the spider assembly. The macro ”Call DeviceTask” is a call
for the task defined in the clamp controller to open the clamps.

2.6 Discussion
The conclusion is that the provided 3D models from different simulation software
are compatible with DELMIA V6 and can be imported and used for simulation.
The .CATProduct, .CATPart and .cgr CATIA V5 models proved to be the formats
which worked the best. A small number of solids and surfaces in the models
disappear when migrating files from CATIA V4 to V5/V6. The same problem
appears when handling .stp files. The available spider assembly model is for the
other side of the production line, which assembles parts for the right side of the car.
Therefore the whole spider assembly had to be mirrored. This step proved to be
a problematic and workload-heavy procedure. Some details could not be mirrored
and the color information was lost in the process. Also it was found to be simpler
to first prepare all clamps, pins and the turntable itself in DELMIA V5, as it is
simpler to handle .cgr files. With the function ”Frame of interest” an axis system
can be added at an arbitrary position, which is then used to create kinematics.
This function appears to be removed from DELMIA V6.
The .step file format is a graphical model representation which generates large
files. It is time consuming and requires good hardware to import these files into
DELMIA. When imported and saved through DELMIA as the native .cgr format
the file size becomes significantly smaller. To further optimize the 3D models a
function in DELMIA V5 called Simplify can be used, which reduces the number
of triangles used in the polygonal mesh. An alternative to .step files is .jt which
also can be exported from Process Simulate. The DELMIA version used for the
project could not handle this format, to support it an extension is required. It
would simplify the data collection, as sometimes the .step files were too large to
open, and also required large pen drives to be moved from VCC.
Moreover there is an issue within DELMIA V5 and V6 which makes it difficult
to work with some .cgr files. The compass has the ability to snap to selected
objects, appearing at the geometry of the model. By editing the coordinates of
the compass the object can be moved and translated freely. However it does not
snap properly for .cgr files, as the compass always appears in the origin. This issue
makes it difficult to place the 3D models, and forces the use of Snap resource. The
compass can be placed manually on the geometry, but when editing the coordinates
it will not move the desired geometry.
A flow of work pieces through a production cell model can be implemented by
adding sources which generate products at a given position, and sinks which remove
the products. Generated work pieces only exist transiently during simulation, and
are not considered actual PLM products [9]. To detect these products so called
simulation sensors are used, which use beams to sense them as they pass by. In
a similar manner, to enable transportation of the products throughout the cell,
grab sensors must be utilized. However grab sensors do not work properly in the
V6R2012X and earlier versions, which means sources and sinks cannot be used
to generate and dispatch products. As an alternative a function called ”Pick and

drop” is used. It causes preselected products to move along with a device which
calls the function. Only one cycle can be run in the simulation since it is not
possible to generate new products.
In the final version of the model of the cell only one of the 11 sensors is used
per turntable. Since work pieces are not generated, sensors require the sensing
mode which detects all geometries rather than just work pieces. This detection
mode reduces the simulation performance since it requires heavy computations
constantly.
There are a number of variables which can be set to make the simulation more
accurate. All movements related to the devices of the turntable have default values
for speed and acceleration. No timings were acquired from VCC.

3 Importing Robot Geometry and Programs
DELMIA has a library containing models of the most commonly used robots from
different manufacturers. Once a library is imported to the project all the robots
from the selected manufacturer will be available for use. These models already
have all the kinematics, joints and attachment ports defined when imported. The
production cell used for this project contains two different robots from ABB. One
of the robots is an IRC5 6640ID and has a weld gun tool attached. It is a servo
controlled scissor type spot weld gun from ARO. The other one is an S4Cplus 6600
equipped with one of two gripper tools which have five clamps used to move the
work pieces, the tool change occurs automatically.
3.1 Robot Programs

In DELMIA it is possible to import robot programs and obtain the behavior of the
actual robot for the model. This feature saves time and work as it automatically
creates the tasks and points in the space, also known as tags. Considering the fact
that different robot manufacturers use different programming languages there are a
number of translators for the respective languages available in DELMIA. Copies of
the .mod files used in the robots were provided by Volvo Car Corporation and the
unrelated procedures for other products were removed from the files. Programs
for the tools are located in separate files. Also, a number of programs for the
communication between the robots and the PLC were included. The tools in the
”Robot Offline Programming” workbench allow the user to upload and translate
a text file containing the robot program to use for the desired robot. ABB robot
programs are written in RAPID, which is a C based programming language [14].
When the translation is finished a report window displays the notices, warnings
and errors that occurred in the process (See Figure 3.1). The Task Options tab
allows attaching tags to parts by selecting one part per object frame [9].
The RAPID translator can comprehend all robot targets which are arrays of
constant values and save them as tags. The different types of movements such
as linear movements (MoveL) and joint movements (MoveJ) between the robot
targets are used to create ”Motion Activities” in DELMIA. Different properties
of the movements such as tool profile, motion profile, accuracy profile and object
profile are automatically assigned. Together, the whole cycle of motion activities
forms a ”Task”. SpotL and SpotJ are in a similar manner translated into spot
weld operations. However the RAPID translator does not understand other specific
commands such as ”Reset” and ”WaitSignal”, which have to be recreated manually
if considered to be required for the simulation.
There are certain limitations the version of the translator used for the project.
Local variables are not working in the V6R2012 version. The workaround is to
replace ”LOCAL CONST” with ”CONST” and ”LOCAL PERS” with ”PERS”.

Figure 3.1: A figure showing the ”Import robot program” feature in DELMIA V6. The
selected tab shows a report of the robot program translation, and includes
descriptions for the warnings.
Moreover, the spot welding data in the welding robot program has to be edited.
Standard S4C/S4C+/C5 syntax supports four arguments whereas the robot pro-
grams supplied by Volvo contain five arguments1 . One solution is to reduce the
number of arguments to four, or to customize the RAPID translator to support the
fifth argument. Another limitation is that the two separate .mod files containing
the gripper and weld gun programs cannot be uploaded in the current version.
There are a few reasons for this:
1. The robot program files contain Select/Case syntax which is not supported
by the RAPID translator.
2. Contains Arrays of Strings, which are not supported.
3. Identifiers larger than 16 characters are not supported by the RAPID trans-
lator.
1
Hairon Anthony 2011, email, 23 September, <anthony.hairon@3ds.com>

As a result, the specific commands for the gripper cannot be imported. Thus
the opening and closing of its clamps has to be recreated manually. In the actual
cell, the PLC has no control over the gripper, it is entirely controlled by the robot.
It should not be defined as the robots auxiliary axis. The two tasks are created
in the grippers motion controller. To enable the robot to control the opening and
closing instructions it is possible to call them as services within the robot tasks.
Closing the clamps of the gripper will not actually grab the work pieces, to enable
them to move together with the gripper the ”Grab” command must be initiated.
Once the clamps are opened, the ”Release” command makes the parts remain at
the current position. No specific information was received about the clamp opening
sequence, studying the behavior tells that one clamp is opened before the gripper
approaches the pallet, and once the parts are in place and fixed by the pallet, the
remaining clamps are opened. This behavior is modeled according to Figure 3.2
below.
To recreate the communication interface between the robots and the PLC both
ends are studied. A routine called DoOrder is used for executing orders from the
PLC. The PLC sends an order with a specific number based on which product is
processed, which in the robot program corresponds to an entry in a list of CASEs.
For this project only one procedure is used for each robot, the one which processes
the V60 model. Also the robots communicate with the PLC to initiate a number
of operations, like ordering opening of clamps and allocating zones. This part of
the communication is carried out by sending ”Locksignals”. The signals consist of
numbers of the data type Word, for each request there is a specific number. When
a request is sent to the PLC it answers with a signal of the same value once it
is accepted. The translator does not have the ability to recreate such tasks. It
can be recreated by writing required procedures in SFC code. The exchange of
Locksignals can be modeled by creating a step with an output containing the value
of the Locksignal and a transition with the corresponding input as a condition.
3.2 Discussion
Unfortunately the RAPID translator is limited to a certain extent and cannot
handle all the contents of the robot programs. Without introducing a few changes
to the programs the compilation and upload is not possible. To conclude, the
translator merely handles the most crucial part, namely the creation of tasks with
movements and weld spot points. The parts which cannot be uploaded must be
added manually. If this procedure is to be done for a large number of projects
it would be more efficient to extend the support of the RAPID translator. The
two main programs used for the robots in the production cell could be uploaded
directly to DELMIA after introducing a small number of changes to the .mod files
containing the programs. As previously mentioned the two tool programs cannot
be uploaded, hence the home positions (like HomeGun321 or HomeGripp412) are

Figure 3.2: Figure showing one of the uploaded tasks in the ”Teach panel”, both with
commands which are successfully translated by the RAPID translator and
the ones which are not, such as ToolLoad and GripperOpen. ”Open Grip-
per Seq2” is one of the added services which are called by the robot, and
”Release.1” represents the releasing of the parts. A timer has been added
to let the clamp open before proceeding with next instruction.
not imported. The target data for home positions needs to be provided in the main
program, by copying and pasting it from the respective tool program. The two tool
programs contain tasks such as dressing of the weld gun, service of tools and weld
testing. Because of the scope of the project most of these tasks are not necessary
to recreate. However, the necessary ones can be created manually in DELMIA’s
Device Task Design workbench. Before uploading the robot programs a S4C con-
troller profile should be uploaded and applied to the two robots in DELMIA. In its
settings the WorldCoords parameter should be set to Boolean value ”false”. The
purpose of this is to give correct tag positions in space.

4 PLC
Programmable logic controller (PLC) or programmable controller is an industrial
computer used for automation of electromechanical processes. PLCs are designed
for multiple input and output arrangements, extended temperature ranges, im-
munity to electrical noise, and resistance to vibration and impact. PLCs have a
critical role in virtual commissioning projects. One of the main objectives of vir-
tual commissioning is to validate the performance and operation of the system,
which is represented as a 3D model in the simulation software, against the actual
PLC.
4.1 Hardware Preparation

The required hardware for this project is a Mitsubishi PLC. A Q12HCPU PLC
with 124 k step program memory which was provided by Volvo Car Corporation
was used in this project. One of the important features which the Q series of the
Mitsubishi PLCs supports, compared with other Mitsubishi PLC models, is the
possibility to force inputs/outputs, i.e. within the programming environment (GX
IEC Developer) the automation engineer can change the value of variables when
in online mode. This property allows to see the operation of the PLC in the online
mode and to force variables with the desired value for troubleshooting purposes.
The hardware configuration used for this project is as follow:
– Base unit
– Power supply module
– Q12HCPU Mitsubishi PLC (High-Performance CPU family)
– QJ71E71 Ethernet interface module (Network module)
Figure 4.1 illustrates the Mitsubishi PLC system structure used in this project,
except that no physical I/O modules are used in the communication between the
PLC and the 3D model.
4.2 Software Preparation

The programming environment for the Mitsubishi PLC which is used in this project
is GX IEC Developer 7.04 software. The PLC program which was provided by
Volvo Car was a large program (approximately 15,000 I/Os) which controls multi-
ple cells and the transportation lines between them, that carry the car body parts
through the production line. Volvo Car Corporation provided a PLC program
which was simplified as much as possible, however even this version was consider-
ably comprehensive.

TEM DESCRIPTION
ration
ucture Digital I/O module Network modules

CPU
d modules are held in a base Special function module
has an internal bus connection
nication between the individual
nd the CPUs. The power for the QD75P4 QJ71E71-100
Q06HCPU QX80 ERR.
serted in the base unit is deli-

RUN
Power supply RUN AX1

01234567 AX2 INT. COM ERR.
MODE 89ABCDEF AX3 OPEN 100M
AX4 SD RD
RUN ERR.
module ERR.
AX3 AX1
e power supply module

USER 1 AX4 AX2
BAT.
2
BOOT
3
5
0
1
nits are available in 4 different 7
9
6
8
2
3
4
th 3 to 12 module slots. Each PULL

B
A
C
5
6
7 10BASE-T/100BASE-T
X
Protective D 8
an be supplemented by means MELSEC

Q61P-A2
POWER
USB
cover for F
NC
COM
E 9
sion unit providing additional RS-232

removable 24VDC
terminal block
4mA
QJ71E71-100
to keep open the option of sub-

tension of your PLC or if you PULL
ots on your base unit, you can

my modules here. They serve to MITSUBISHI EJECT
MODE
free slots from soiling or from RUN

ERR.
USER
BAT.
I / 01
I / 02
I / 03
I / 04
I / 05
I / 06
I / 07
Q38B(N)
I / 00 BOOT. E.S.D
CPU
effects but can also be used POWER

C
A
R
ON SW
2
3
4
1
g I/O points.
D 5
STOP RUN
BASE UNIT
MODEL Q38B
SERIAL 0205020E0100017-A RESET L.CLR
larger systems and machines - Base unit

dular design – the use of 100
M
USB interface
modules offers additional Interface for extension unit
INSERT
SD/
PO
(under the transparent cover) 10 BASE-T/100 BASE-TX

MITSUBISHI
ations facilities.
FLASH
CARD
Ethernet/RS232 interface
2M
Backup battery
Memory card (slot on the lower side)
Figure 4.1: Mitsubishi PLC system structure
The PLC program consists of 51 Program Organization Units (POU) which

may contain Ladder or SFC programs and have in total 39132 steps, i.e. about
39 kilo steps. The PLC program was reviewed completely and some parts of the
it and extension units areprogram which were unrelated Main base unit
to redundant
optionally this project were bypassed and removed from the
nected to one another by exten-
main program. In most cases it was necessary to modify the PLC program in order
to override interlock signals between the cell used in the project and other cells. For
Q52B and Q55B are used these MELSEC
Q61P-A2
POWER
Q06HCPU
MODE
RUN
Q06HCPU
MODE
RUN
ERR.
QX80
01234567
89ABCDEF
L
QY80
01234567
89ABCDEF
FUSE
C
V+
Q64AD
RUN
ERROR
QJ71BR11
RUN
T.PASS
SD
ERR.
STATION NO.
MNG
D.LINK
RD
L ERR.
MELSEC
Q64RP
POWER
MELSEC
Q64RP
POWER
Q06HCPU
MODE
RUN
ERR.
Q06HCPU
MODE
RUN
ERR.
QX80
012345 67
89ABCDEF
QX80
012345 67
89ABCDEF
QX80
012345 67
89ABCDEF
1
QX80
012345 67
89ABCDEF
1
QX80
012345 67
89ABCDEF
1
QX80
012345 67
89ABCDEF
2
QX80
012345 67
89ABCDEF
2
QX80
012345 67
89ABCDEF
QJ71BR11
RUN
T.PAS S
SD
ER R.
STATIO N N O.
X10
MN G
D.LIN K
RD
L ER R.
supply the necessary 5V instance,

DC
1
ERR. 1 H
V-
USER 1 2
2
3
USER 1 L X10 USER 1 2 3
USER 2
in the PLC program there was a POU for communicating with the two
1 I+ 3 X1
BAT. L
2
BAT. BAT. 2
2 3 4
2 3
BAT.
BOOT 3 SLD BOOT BOOT 3
3
4
4
4
0 0
BOOT 3 L X1 3
4
4
0 0 5
5
1
4 V+
0 4
0 0 5
5
1 MODE
4 L
0 C
4
0 0 5
5
1 1 6
6
2
0 5 V-
1 5
5
1 1 6
6
2 7
5 L
1
H MODE
1 1 6
6
2 2 7
3
1 6
2 I+
2 6
6
2 2 7
7
3 8
6 L
2 2 2 7
7
3 8 3 8
4
2 7 SLD 7
7
3 3 8
4 9
7 L
3 3 3 8 3 8
8
4 9 4 9
5
3
V+ 8 4 9
5 A
ply to the extension base unit.

L
8
4 4 9 4 9
5 A
BASE UNIT
8
4 C
V- 9 4 9
5 A 5 A
6 B 6
4 L
9 H
5 5 A 5 A
6 B
MODEL Q38B 9
5 3 I+ A 5 A
6 B 6 B
7 C 7
SERIAL 0205020E 5 L
A
6 6 B 6 B
7 C
A
6 SLD B 6 B
7 C 7 C
8 D 8
6 L
B PULL
7 C 7 C
8 D
B 7 PULL
7 C
8 D
9
Profibus modules which were used in the production line at the Volvo Car factory.
PULL C 7 V+ C
8 D 8 D
E 9
E
PULL C 7 L
8 8 D 8 D
E 9 E 9 F
D 8 C V- D
E 9 E 9 F
D 8 L H
4 9 USB USB E 9 E 9 F
F
F
NC
USB E 9 L
E 9 I+
F
F
F
NC
NC
NC
COM
COM
USB F SLD NC
NC COM
F L NC COM
COM
NC COM
COM A.G. COM 24VDC
PULL NC
COM 24VDC
24VDC 4mA
n extension units with up to

(FG) 24VDC 4mA
COM 24VDC 4mA
24VDC 4mA
A/D 24VDC 4mA
24VDC 4mA
12VDC RS-232 4mA QJ71BR1
0~±10V RS-232 4mA 1
24VDC
24VDC 0~20mA
0.5A
RS-232 4mA
RS-232 PULL
QJ71BR11
PULL
Since these Profibus modules were not required, the parts of the PLC program
MITSUBISHI
MITSUBISHI
MITSUBISHI
s can be connected to base

ension base units. The exten-
which were related to the communication
Extension base unit with these two Profibus modules had to
optionally redundant
e in the horizontal or vertical Extension 1
be
nd allows a maximum distance
bypassed otherwise the program did not run. Figure 4.2 shows the Task Pool
nsions cables of 13.2 m. of the PLC program in which the task DP1 is responsible for communication with
QJ71BR11
QX80 QX80 RUN MNG
QX80 QX80 01234567 T.PAS S D.LINK

QX80 01234567
QX80 01234567 89ABCDEF SD RD
QX80 01234567 89ABCDEF L ER R.
QJ71BR11 QX80 01234567 89ABCDEF ER R.
01234567 89ABCDEF
QY80 Q64AD RUN MNG 01234567 89ABCDEF
01234567 89ABCDEF
QX80 D.LINK 89ABCDEF
QY80 01234567 RUN T.PASS
RD MELSEC POWER 89ABCDEF
QX80 01234567 89ABCDEF
SD
Q64RP
01234567
01234567 89ABCDEF FUSE
ERROR ERR. L ERR. MELSEC POWER 1
1 STATI ON NO.
POWER 89ABCDEF Q64RP 1
MELSEC 89ABCDEF FUSE 1
1
1
2
2 X10
Q61P-A2 V+ 1 2
L 1 2 3
2 3
1
C
V- STATION NO. 2
2 3 X1
1 L H X10 2 3 4
1
1
L
2 1 I+
3
3
3
4
4
4
0 0
2 3 4
0 0 5
the two Profibus modules.

2
2
3 SLD
X1 4
4
0 5
5
1 1 MODE
3 L
4
0 0 5
1 6
sing the power supply module,

5
3
3 4 V+
0 0 5
1 1 6
6
2 2
4
4
0
L
0 C 5
5
1 1 6
6
2 7
7
4 0 L 5
1 H
V-
1 MODE 1 6
6
2 2 7
3 3
0 5
5
1 2 I+ 6
2 2 7
7
3 8
8
5
1 1 6 L
6
2 2 2 7
7
3 8 3 8
4 9 4
6
2 7 SLD
3
7
3 8 3 8
4 9
6
2 2 7 L
3 8 3 8
4 9 4 9
5 A 5
7
7
3 8 V+
4 4 9 4 9
5 A
3 8 3 8 L
4 C
V- BA SE UNIT 9 4 9
5 A 5 A
6 B 6
BASE UNIT 8
4 4 L
9 H
5 5 A 5 A
6 B
MODEL Q38B 4 9
9
5 3 I+
MOD EL Q38B A 5 A
6 B 6 B
7 C 7
9
5 A 5 L
A
6 6 B 6 B
C 7 C
SERIAL 0205020E
5 A B 6 SLD SERIAL B 6 B
7 C 7 8 D 8
A 6 7 C D
wer consumption of the I/O

6 B L
7 7 7 C 7 C
8 D 8 9
B 6 B
7 L
C V+ C
8 D 8 D
E 9
E
7 C 7 C
8 C V- 8 8 D 8 D
E 9 E 9 F
C
D 8 L
D H
9
D
E 9 E 9 F
D 8 D 8 E 9 4 I+ E 9 E 9 F
F
F
NC
E 9
E 9 L
F
F
NC
NC
COM
E 9 F L
F SLD F
NC
NC
NC
COM
COM
F
In Figure 4.2, the task DP1 is bypassed by assigning a new variable

COM A.G. NC COM
PULL F
NC NC COM
COM
NC COM 24VDC
NC COM
(FG) COM 24VDC
COM 24VDC 4mA
COM A/D 24VDC 4mA
12VDC 24VDC 4mA
0~±10V 24VDC 4mA
24VDC 24VDC
f the special function modules

0~20mA 24VDC 4mA
24VDC 0.5A 4mA QJ71BR11
24VDC 4mA
24VDC 4mA 4mA
4mA
4mA
QJ71BR11
PULL
PULL MITSUBISHI
MITSUBISHI MITSUBISHI
peripherals must be taken PROFIBUS ENABLE to its ”Event” property and its value is set to FALSE. There-
into
necessary, an extension unit
er power supply module
fore the task DP1 runs if and only if the variable PROFIBUS ENABLE is set to
Extension 2 Extension 7
used. be TRUE.
ssible to use a redundant MELSEC
Q61P-A2
POWER
1
QX80
01234567
89ABCDEF
1
QY80
01234567
89ABCDEF
FUSE
1
QX80
01234567
89ABCDEF
L
1
2
QY80
01234567
89ABCDEF
FUSE
C
H
1
V-
V+
I+
Q64AD
RUN
ERROR
QJ71BR11
RUN
T.PASS
SD
ERR.
STATION NO.
X10
MNG
D.LINK
RD
L ERR.
MELSEC
Q61P-A2
POWER
1
QX80
01234567
89ABCDEF
1
QY80
01234567
89ABCDEF
FUSE
2
QX80
01234567
89ABCDEF
L
1
2
QY80
01234567
89ABCDEF
FUSE
C
H
1
V-
V+
I+
Q64AD
RUN
ERROR
QJ71BR11
STATION NO.
X10
RUN
T.PASS
SD
ERR.
MNG
D.LINK
RD
L ERR.
ply configuration to increase

2 L 2
2 2 3 SLD
2 3 SLD 3 L X1
3 L X1 3
3
3 4 V+
0 3 4 L
4
0 C
V+
0
4
4
0
L
0 C 4
4
0 0 L 5 H
V-
1 MODE
4 0 L 5
1 H
V-
1 MODE 0 5
1 1 2
0 5
5
1 2 I+ 5
5
1 L
6 I+
2
5 1 6 L
6
2 2 1 6
6
2 2
1 6
2 7 SLD 6
2 L
7 SLD
3
6
2 7 L
3 3 2 7
7
3 3 V+
2 7
3 8 V+ 7
3 8 L
8
C 4
7
3 8 L
4 C 4 3 8
4 4 V-
BASE UNIT 3 8
4 9 H
V- BASE UNIT 8
4 9 L
9 H
5
8
4 9 L
5 3 I+ 5 MODEL Q38B 4 9
5 A 5 3 I+
MODEL Q38B 9 4 9
5 A
SERIAL 0205020E
9
5 A L
6
SERIAL 0205020E 5 A L
6 6 5 A
6 B 6 SLD
A 5 A
6 L
B SLD A
6 B L
7
6 B
7 7 6 B
7 C 7 V+
B 6 B
7 L
C V+ B
7 C L
C V- 8
C 7 C
8 C V- 8 C 7 C
8
D 8
C 7 8 L
D H
8 D L H
9
D 8 D
9 4 9 D 8 D E 9 4 I+
D 8 E 9 L
E I+
E 9
E 9 L
E 9
E 9 L
F SLD E 9 F L
F SLD
F F COM A.G.
F COM A.G. PULL F
PULL F
NC NC
NC
NC NC COM
(FG)
NC COM
(FG) COM
COM COM A/D
A/D 12VDC
COM 12VDC 0~±10V
0~±10V 24VDC
24VDC 24VDC 0~20mA
0~20mA 0.5A
24VDC 0.5A 24VDC 4mA
24VDC 4mA 24VDC 4mA
24VDC 4mA 4mA
4mA QJ71BR11
QJ71BR11
MITSUBISHI MITSUBISHI
MITSUBISHI ELECTRIC
Figure 4.2: Task pool of the PLC program
The cell consists of two industrial ABB robots where each robot has its own
program which handles the communication with the PLC. One of the important
tasks in the PLC part was to find all signals in the PLC program which are needed
to communicate with the robot programs. The electrical document generated with
EPLAN Electric software, was used in order to find a clear point to point connection
between the names that are used in 3D model files and the tag numbers in the PLC
program.
In order to acquire the information from the PLC program it was necessary to
extract the flowchart of the program for each task. For example Figure 4.3 shows
the program flow for fixtures S056 and S057. These are the two spider assemblies,
that are mounted on the turntable. In this flowchart the interconnecting signals
which are used for the communication with the other cells for safety are not shown.
This EPLAN file contains following information about the workcell:
– Installation drawings
– Circuit diagram
– Cable list
– Input/Output list
– Termination diagram
The EPLAN document, which was the only electrical reference in this project,
was used to find the connection between the names of sensors and the actuators in
the 3D model and the tag numbers and the related signals in the PLC program.
4.3 OPC Configuration

The OPC communication protocol was used for connecting the Mitsubishi PLC to
the 3D model in DELMIA V6. OPC which stands for OLE (Object Linking and
Embedding) for Process Control is the protocol which specifies the communication

of real-time plant data between control devices from different manufacturers [5].
There are multiple OPC server softwares which are almost the same in operation
but each one has its own performance and capabilities. Multiple OPC servers were
examined for this project such as Matrikon OPC server and KEPServerEX, but
finally the Beijer OPC server was chosen. The Beijer OPC server is the most
user-friendly OPC server of the ones tested and is the least complex. Volvo Car
Corporation provided the Beijer OPC server for this project. The server connects
to the PLC, gathers required data and transforms this data to a standard OPC
format. Then DELMIA V6 can connect to it as an OPC client. In DELMIA, SFC
code was added which is used to make the connection between I/Os of the sensors
and actuators in the 3D model and the inputs/outputs of the actual Mitsubishi
PLC. These signals are sent to DELMIA V6 through the OPC communication
protocol. The OPC communication protocol plays an important role in this project.
It is the communication bridge between the actual PLC and DELMIA V6 which
allows them share data mutually. The OPC server is installed on the computer
which DELMIA V6 is running on; therefore some potential network restrictions
and firewall problems are bypassed. However in general, the OPC server can be
installed on another computer as well. Figure 4.4 depicts the general configuration
of the system. The software on each workstation is as follows:
– DELMIA workstation: DELMIA V6 (as an OPC client) - Beijer OPC server
– PLC workstation: GX IEC Developer (for PLC programming)
As can be seen in Figure 4.4, there is a serial connection between the Mitsubishi
PLC and the PLC workstation. This USB connection is used for programming the
PLC, monitoring and debugging the program.
Figure 4.4: General hardware configuration of the system
Required I/Os were defined on the OPC server and are read from the PLC
while running. These I/Os are categorized in a number of different groups in the

Beijer OPC server software. Table 4.1 shows a part of the Input/Output mapping
list which is prepared for the communication between the PLC and DELMIA.
This table which contains about 110 I/Os has the required information which is
necessary for communication through the OPC server. The signals in this table
are mapped into the OPC server and are accessible by DELMIA which acts as an
OPC client.
Table 4.1: A sample part of Input/Output Mapping List
I/O Name MIT- Object

(PLC (PLC Add. Type No Action Group
Side) Side) (DELMIA)
Output S056M3YE2 Y1384 BOOL – Close clamps Spider Assem. 56
Output S056M3YE1 Y1385 BOOL – Open clamps Spider Assem. 56
Output S057M3YE2 Y13D4 BOOL – Close clamps Spider Assem. 57
Output S057M3YE1 Y13D5 BOOL – Open clamps Spider Assem. 57
Input S056SG11 X13B9 BOOL 31199853 Photocell sensor Spider Assem. 56
Input S056SG3 X13B2 BOOL 31199853 Proximity sensor Spider Assem. 56
Input S056SG8 X13BA BOOL 31199877 Photocell sensor Spider Assem. 56
Figure 4.5 shows a snapshot from the running OPC server. It can be seen that
there are six main groups of introduced tag numbers for the OPC server. One group
which is called SystemVariables, is automatically generated when a new controller
is defined. In Figure 4.5, the VolvoPLC is the chosen name for the controller.
These I/Os were introduced to the OPC server as tag numbers with their address.
For introducing an I/O to the OPC server some necessary information is required
such as: name, address, data type and poll interval (how often the tag value is to
be updated). The name of defined tag numbers should comply with the names in
the PLC program and are best chosen to be something meaningful, however for
further clarity the chosen names of the tag numbers in this project are exactly the
same as the ones of the PLC variables. The address of the I/O can be in either IEC
or MIT (Mitsubishi addressing procedure) formats. The GX IEC Developer can
recognize both the IEC and MIT formats for addressing of variables. The required
tag numbers which are defined in the OPC server can be accessed from any OPC
client which can detect the running OPC server.

Figure 4.5: Running OPC server (list of signals and their information for the fixture
56 are shown)
4.4 Discussion
The general concept of virtual commissioning in this project is validated in terms
of communication with an actual PLC. DELMIA V6 is connected to the actual
Mitsubishi PLC. Although some modifications were needed in the PLC program
in order to work properly. Writing the PLC program while designing the product
and production system reduces the amount of code debugging (i.e. backtracking
signals in the PLC program).
There are a number of POUs in the PLC program which are unrelated to the
station 13-95-050 but unfortunately could not be completely separated from this
station since it has a number of interconnection signals with station 13-95-050.
Many of the backtracking tasks are done to follow these interlocking signals and
to bypass them.
None of the function blocks in the Library Pool of the PLC program could
be edited, these function blocks caused some difficulties for communication be-
tween the PLC program and the robot programs. These function blocks belong to
VolvoLib2 0 library.

S056 and S057 Fixtures Sequence
Pos. 180°
Pos. 0°
No
Yes
No
No
Yes
Yes
No
Yes
No
Yes
Yes
No
Yes
No
Yes
Figure 4.3: Program flowchart for fixtures S056 and S057

5 Final Simulation
With the 3D model ready to simulate, the OPC server and PLC configured, the two
major parts of the projects are then linked together. In DELMIA, the previously
used internal logics (”software PLC”) are replaced with the external control. The
external control is connected with the OPC communication protocol and receives
all available tags from the server (see Figure 5.1). The tags appear as I/Os of the
external control block. As previously mentioned the actual PLC has a number of
variables which need to be initialized to certain values before the program can be
executed successfully. This can be achieved by creating simulation logics inside
the internal control block and internally connecting the I/Os of this block with the
External control block. A 2D HMI2 is added which represents the control panel
the operator interacts with in the actual station. It can be used to trigger the cycle
once all four workpieces are in place in the spider assembly.
Figure 5.1: DELMIA’s external control interface. To the left, the smaller window
shows the settings for connections. To the right, the larger window
shows the OPC server browser, where the mapping between OPC tags and
DELMIA I/Os is done. The fields to the left show the different available
tags and the field to the right shows the I/Os of the external control block.
In the device creation phase all I/Os of the devices are defined. These I/Os
and the connections of the whole DELMIA cell model can be seen in Figure 5.2.
2
Human-Machine Interface

Figure 5.2: Figure showing an example of the connections of the different devices in
the production cell and their respective I/Os. Red arrows represent inputs
while blue arrows are outputs.
There are a few simulation options available which alter how the simulation
runs. ”Simulate in Real Time” can be selected, which will lead to continuous
update of the step size. Slower simulation with respect to real time results in larger
step size, and vice versa. This option can cause varying simulation performance
depending on how heavy computations are at the given moment.

6 Conclusion & Future work
In this project, necessary steps for preparing available resources for virtual commis-
sioning are introduced. Dassault Systèmes offers a complete digital manufacturing
solution, from the early product and production design to the final commissioning.
The V6 version of the software integrates ENOVIA which allows everyone assigned
to the project to have access to the files. Any changes done to the files are propa-
gated to the server. Comparing to V5, the new design aims to simplify the use of
the software. An online documentation is available to help users become familiar
with the different tools. CATIA/DELMIA/ENOVIA are integrated into a seamless
environment, meaning that everything is done in one window without having to
export and re-open in other editors. Instead, workbenches are used which contain
tools specific for the desired purpose. In fact, DELMIA is an extension of CATIA.
This allows an effortless transition of CATIA resources to DELMIA. It is clear
that a big effort has been put in to change the way of working with DELMIA. The
new version of the software (V6) feels redone, it is aesthetically more pleasing and
some functionality is more straightforward compared to V5. However, some func-
tionality was missing in these versions, and therefore, version V5 was preferred for
certain tasks. The exportation of .cgr files was done in V5 as the first release of V6
used for the project lacked the possibility to export this format. The DELMIA V6
documentation is slightly lacking of necessary information and is pedagogical. It
often describes well how to do most operations but it is difficult to know in which
situations they can be used. Some chapters of the documentation are thorough
while some need revising. For users new to DELMIA it can be hard to navigate
and know the correct procedures. The most efficient way of becoming familiar with
the software is to have personal training and to follow tutorials.
Regarding the essential robot part of the virtual cell, it is possible to improve
the RAPID translator to include non-standard functions that are implemented
in the robot programs. For this project the translator was not edited and in-
stead part of the robot tasks are added manually in DELMIA. Almost all of the
robot functionality which was required for this project is successfully translated by
DELMIA. With a wider scope including tasks such as change and service of tools
a more extensive amount of manual work would be required.
As for the PLC part, it was found that it is possible to simulate a cell using
DELMIA V6 and the given data. Though it does not work instantaneously, many
simplifications were done in the model, robot programs and the PLC program. To
introduce a true virtual commissioning all stations including their functions needs
to be implemented. Many blocks in the PLC program are dependent on the signals
of other stations. The PLC code should be written by automation engineers from
the early design steps in parallel with the creation of 3D models in order to achieve
less code debugging.
To conclude the virtual commissioning part, the final cell is not an entirely

trustworthy copy of the actual cell; there are more steps needed to take which will
increase the authenticity of the model, such as introducing collision detection, speed
and acceleration of clamps, implementing mean-time-to-failure, etc. No timing
information was available hence default values were used in all cases except for the
robot movements. The option for the real time simulation could not be used with
the hardware supplied for the project. The computations required were too heavy
which leads to a simulation approximately three times slower than real time. A
message informs that the simulation is unable to reach real time.
For future work, there are several distinctive paths that could be taken. One
path can be improving the current work to include all three variants of the car
models, and on making it more realistic by adding correct timings and collision
detection. Alternatively, more focus could be put into the RAPID translator. For
instance it can be edited to extend its support of non-standard functionality as
well as work with the functions which are not supported such as Select/Case.
The communication between the robots and the PLC could be more elaborate by
introducing interlocks.

References
[1] Digital Manufacturing and Production - DELMIA - Dassault Systèmes [on-
line]. <www.3ds.com/products/delmia>, Accessed February 2012.
[2] Google SketchUp (2012) [online]. <sketchup.google.com>, Accessed February

2012.
[3] Is SAP PLM for Real? (April 2009) [online]. <www.scmfocus.com/

servicepartsplanning/2009/04/21/is-sap-plm-for-real>, Accessed February
2012.
[4] NyTeknik, (February 2009) [online]. <www.nyteknik.se/nyheter/automation/

article504438.ece>, Accessed February 2012.
[5] OLE for process control - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (2012) [online].
<en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OLE for process control>, Accessed February 2012.
[6] PLM - CIMdata - Global Leader in PLM Consulting (2012) [online]. <www.
cimdata.com/plm.html>, Accessed February 2012.
[7] Process Simulate - Siemens PLM Software (2012) [online]. <www.plm.

automation.siemens.com/en us/products/tecnomatix/assembly planning/
process simulate>, Accessed February 2012.
[8] SAP - PLM Software — Product Lifecycle Management Solution [online].

<www.sap.com/solutions/business-suite/plm>, Accessed February 2012.
[9] V62012X User’s Guides, Dassault Systèmes (2002-2012) [online]. <www.3ds.

com/support/download-documentation/v6-users-guides/>, Accessed Febru-
ary 2012.
[10] Virtual Commissioning - DELMIA - Dassault Systèmes (2002-2012)

[online]. <www.3ds.com/solutions/cross-industry-solutions/overview/
digital-manufacturing/virtual-commissioning>, Accessed February 2012.
[11] What is PLM — PLM Technology Guide (2008) [online]. <www.

plmtechnologyguide.com/site>, Accessed February 2012.
[12] R. et al. Drath. An evolutionary approach for the industrial introduction of

virtual commissioning. Emerging Technologies and Factory Automation, pages
5–8, 15-18 September, Hamburg 2008.
[13] Pellicciari M. et al. Engineering method for adaptive manufacturing systems

design. Int. J Interact Des Manuf., 3:81–91, 24 March 2009.

[14] Akkan G. Shoaei M. Verification, Optimization and Synthesis of Sequences of
Operations. May, Göteborg. Chalmers University of Technology. 2009.
[15] Kühn W. Digital Factory - Simulation Enhancing the Product and Production
Engineering Process. Proceedings of the 2006 Winter Simulation Conference,
2006.

A Appendix
A.1 Resource types in DELMIA V6
Tool device – A resource which can contain logics, tasks and motions. All of the
clamps and pins are defined as tool devices. Also the robot tools (gripper
and weld gun) are Tool devices, as the attachments for a robot must be of
this type of resource.
Organizational – This resource cannot contain logics of its own, but organizes
other types of resources within it. The whole cell is an Organizational re-
source.
Area – Is a ”transparent” resource meaning that upper level resources can access
the other resources contained within. Has a similar purpose as the Organiza-
tional resource, however it lacks some of its properties, such as the possibility
to have I/Os.
Sensor – A special type of resource which contains an arbitrary shape and a beam
attached to it which can be set to detect workpieces or any other geometry
passing the beam. Contains one output of Boolean type by default.
Robot – Robots which are imported in DELMIA from the robot library are au-
tomatically of this resource type.
Control device – This resource is used for describing the behavior of devices
on the same level of the tree through an SFC (Sequence Function Chart)
program. It can have I/Os and control one or more tool devices, also used
for controlling robots.
Logic controller – A logic controller resource can like the control device contain
SFC programs and I/O ports to connect to other resources. This makes it
suitable to be used as a software PLC. In this project it was used for testing
and verification purposes. The logic controller can also directly be exchanged
for external control when the OPC server is connected.
Worker – A worker that handles a process of some kind. The resource contains
a manikin model.

A.2 Manual for Running the Simulation in DELMIA V6
1. Start the CATIA V6R2012X application.
2. Select the ”VCC-Final” project in the options.
3. In CATIA, enter a suitable search phrase, for instance ’PPR*’, and click on
the magnifying glass. Right-click on the search result ”PPR-13-95-050”, and
select Open with >Open advanced. . . (see Figure A.1). Then make sure
that ”With all representations” and ”With expanded children from
database” are ticked and press Open (see Figure A.2).
Figure A.1: Opening the project
Figure A.2: Opening the project; setting dialogue box
4. Double-click on ”13-95-050-Cell”, in the tree. (If the tree does not appear
press F3)
5. Now go to the System & Device designer workbench.
6. A tree containing all logics should open. Here expand the ”13-95-050-Cell”
branch, and scroll down to ”PLC”, select it.

7. Right-click on ”External Control” and select Connection Protocol. Browse
and select the desired OPC Server. Also enter the name of the currently used
computer (see Figure A.3).
Figure A.3: Communication with OPC server dialogue box
8. To run the simulation, click on ”13-95-050-Cell” in the top window, and then
”Main” in the window below. Make sure that the OPC server is running, and
press the ”Play” button located in the middle of the compass, the simulation
starts.

A.3 Manual for Running the PLC Program
This appendix describes the required steps to run the simulation in GX IEC De-
veloper against DELMIA V6.
A.3.1 Setting up the PLC program

1. Run the GX IEC Developer program.
2. Open the project file by clicking on the yellow highlighted project folder
which is mentioned in Figure A.4 (9531pl).
Figure A.4: Opening the project dialogue box
3. For applying modifications to the PLC program, its security level needs to
be changed. However, for running the program and to view the signal status
during a run, changing the security level is not necessary. For doing this,
select Change Security Level in the Project menu. Security level is by
default set to 1. Set the Security Level to 7 and leave the Password field
empty and press OK.
4. The available PLC program is built and has already been downloaded to
the PLC CPU. If any modifications are made to the PLC program it needs
to be rebuilt and transferred to the PLC CPU before running the program
again. In order to build and download the PLC program into the PLC CPU,
perform the following steps otherwise jump to the next section (Monitoring
Mode).

5. Select Rebuild all from the Project menu or simply use the Shift+Alt+C
keyboard shortcut. Then the PLC program will be built again. The message
which is shown in Figure A.5 will appear after building the program with
zero errors.
Figure A.5: Building the project message box, this message box will appear after re-
building the project
6. The built program needs to be transferred to the PLC CPU before running
the simulation. In order to do this select Transfer from the Project menu,
then click on the Download to PLC or use the Ctrl+Alt+W keyboard
shortcut. Following dialogue box will appear (see Figure A.6).
Figure A.6: Transfer to PLC dialogue box settings
7. Select the Configure button for checking the Transfer Setup Ports. Then
make sure that the settings are the same as in Figure A.7. The USB connec-
tion is chosen for the communication between the PLC CPU and GX IEC
Developer. After checking the transfer setup settings press OK.
8. Select the Configure button for checking the Transfer Setup Projects
from the Transfer to PLC dialogue box. Then make sure that the settings

Figure A.7: Transfer setup ports for the communication between GX IEC Developer
and the PLC
are same as the Figure A.8. Also make sure that the PLC-Parameter and
Program is chosen as the DOWNLOAD object in the Transfer Setup
dialogue box.
9. Click OK in the Transfer to PLC dialogue box. Then the PLC program will
be downloaded to the PLC CPU. You will be prompted by the message box
as shown in Figure A.9.
Click on the OK button. After downloading the built PLC program to the
PLC CPU you will be prompted by the message box is shown in Figure A.10.
Click on the OK button.
After performing the above mentioned steps for downloading the PLC pro-
gram to the PLC CPU you should get the following message box (see Fig-
ure A.11).
Now the PLC program is successfully downloaded to the PLC CPU but a
small error occurred in the PLC, the ERR. LED on the PLC CPU starts
blinking red and the PLC is put in the STOP state. This error can be
removed by ONE of the following procedures:

Figure A.8: Transfer setup project settings
Figure A.9: Resetting the PLC message box
Figure A.10: Resetting the PLC message box
(a) Hardware Procedure: On the PLC CPU, set the RESET/L.CLR

switch to RESET to perform a hardware reset and then return the
switch to the Neutral position in the middle. This switch is a three
state switch which has RESET, L.CLR and Neutral positions. This
switch is normally set to the Neutral position. Therefore the ERR.
LED stops blinking and the PLC CPU returns to the normal mode. Now
both of MODE and RUN LEDs should be green. (See Figure A.12 for

Figure A.11: Message box which tells that the project is successfully downloaded to the
PLC
more details of the CPU module)
Figure A.12: 12HCPU PLC Module
(b) Software Procedure: Select the Start / Stop PLC from the Online
menu or use the Alt+S keyboard shortcut. You will be prompted by
the following dialogue box (see Figure A.13).
Figure A.13: Start / Stop PLC dialogue box
It says that the PLC is in the STOP state due to some errors. Click on
the Execute button and click the OK button on the next confirmation
message box. Then the following dialogue box will be shown (see Fig-
ure A.14). If the error still remains redo this step again by clicking on
the Execute button again.
As a matter of fact, resetting the PLC through the hardware procedure
is faster than be the software procedure. In addition, one time resetting

Figure A.14: Start / Stop PLC dialogue box
the PLC through software procedure usually does not remove the error
and a second try is needed.
Note: It is recommended to RESET the PLC CPU after each simulation run
to make sure that all overridden signals restore their initial values.
A.3.2 Monitoring Mode

The PLC program is now ready to run and communicate with DELMIA. This
communication is set to be automatic however for monitoring and possibly over-
riding the signals in the GX IEC Developer program, following steps should be
performed:
1. Select Monitoring Mode from the Online menu or use the Shift+ESC
keyboard shortcut. Then the status of the desired inputs and outputs in
the PLC program can be monitored through the following procedures while
Monitoring Mode is activated.
2. For instance if one wants to monitor the signals which are in the
S050ModeChoice POU then S050ModeChoice [PRG] should be ex-
panded in the POU Pool tree in the project tree. The Ladder program of
the S050ModeChoice POU can be opened by double clicking on the Body
[LD] of the S050ModeChoice [PRG]. For this example the place of the
S050ModeChoice [PRG] is shown in the project tree in the Figure A.15.
After opening the S050ModeChoice POU in Monitoring Mode, to view
the status of the signals in this POU, the monitoring for this specific POU
should be activated. In Monitoring Mode when one Ladder or SFC program
is opened, Monitoring Mode for that is not activated automatically. To
perform the activation of the monitoring for a Ladder or SFC program while
it is selected, select Start Monitoring from the Online menu or use the
Ctrl+F8 keyboard shortcut instead. Then a narrow yellow color border will

Figure A.15: Tree view of the PLC program
appear around of all signals in a Ladder or SFC program which monitoring

is started on it (see the Figure A.16).
Figure A.16: Figure shows a function block and its related signals in Monitoring Mode,
a yellow outline appears for all signals in Monitoring Mode
3. In order to change the value of a signal in Monitoring Mode there are two
methods:
(a) Double click on a signal’s name in a Ladder or SFC program, for which
the monitoring is started in its POU (Ctrl+F8) or right click on the
signal’s name and select Modify Variable Value. Then if the signals
variable type is BOOL, a confirmation message box will appear and

then the signal’s value will be changed (see Figure A.17). Then a box
filled with yellow appears on the signal’s name.
Figure A.17: Figure shows a function block in Monitoring Mode, for which some of its
signals are activated (they are marked with a yellow filled box)
For the signals with different variable type such as WORD, INT, etc.
a dialogue box will appear for modifying their values (see Figure A.18).
Figure A.18: A dialogue box which value of a WORD type signal could be overridden
through
(b) Another way to change the value of variables in Monitoring Mode

is by using the entry data for them. To do this select Entry Data
Monitor from the Online menu or use Shift+Ctrl+F8 instead. Then
the Entry Data Monitor window will appear (see Figure A.19).
Figure A.19: Entry Data Monitor window
To enter a signal’s name to this window one could simply type the
signal’s name in the Name column and hit Enter. Then the address
and value of the desired signal will be shown in the respective columns.
Another way is to double click on an empty cell in the name column

and then hit the F2 key. Then a dialogue box will appear and one
could find and choose the desired variable name from the object list
(see Figure A.20).
Figure A.20: Object list of the project; desired signal for insertion in the Entry Data
Monitor window can be chosen from the list
In the Entry Data Monitor window the values of signals can be

changed by double clicking on a signal’s row in the table for the BOOL
type variables and double clicking on the value cell of a signal with
WORD or INT variable type and typing in the desired value.
Note: changing the value of a signal is possible if and only if that signal
is an input (=contact) for the PLC program and not an output (=coil)
or outcome of function blocks within the PLC program.
A.3.3 OPC Configuration

1. Run the Beijer Electronics OPC Server program.
2. Select Open from the File menu to load the configuration file.
3. Load the Volvo-OPC-Configuration.czc file which contains the configu-

ration and I/O list for the project. The configuration file contains the infor-
mation about the PLC and its network IP address which the OPC server is
going to communicate with and also the information about the PLC signals
which are accessible through OPC communication protocol. After opening
the configuration file right click on the VolvoOPC in the project tree and
select Property Dialog (see Figure A.21). Then enter the new IP address
and port in the Configuration field (see Figure A.22).

Figure A.21: Beijer OPC program; how to modify the properties of a controller
Figure A.22: Properties dialogue box of the VolvoPLC controller. The IP address of
the PLC will be set in this dialogue box.
4. Select Run from the Server dropdown menu or press the F5 key. Then the
server is running and the “Controller is connected” message will be shown in
the “Log information” window (see Figure A.23).

Figure A.23: Running Beijer OPC server window

A.4 List of Figures and Tables
List of Figures
1.1 The different phases of PLM from a DELMIA perspective . . . . . 4
1.2 Plot plan of the station 13-95-050 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
1.3 Rendered image showing two different views of the car side (red),
and the four work pieces (grey) which are welded together and
placed onto the car side. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
2.1 A figure showing the ”Engineering Connection Definition” dialog.
Also a list of created engineering connections for the weld gun tool
can be seen at the bottom of the tree. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
2.2 The hierarchical organization of the turntable. An area resource
is at the top level, containing the rotary table, the turntable and
the two spider assemblies which in turn contain the clamps, guiding
pins and sensors. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
2.3 Figure showing how PLC signals control the air valves that open
and close the clamps of the spider assembly. The macro ”Call De-
viceTask” is a call for the task defined in the clamp controller to
open the clamps. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
3.1 A figure showing the ”Import robot program” feature in DELMIA
V6. The selected tab shows a report of the robot program transla-
tion, and includes descriptions for the warnings. . . . . . . . . . . 15
3.2 Figure showing one of the uploaded tasks in the ”Teach panel”, both
with commands which are successfully translated by the RAPID
translator and the ones which are not, such as ToolLoad and Grip-
perOpen. ”Open Gripper Seq2” is one of the added services which
are called by the robot, and ”Release.1” represents the releasing of
the parts. A timer has been added to let the clamp open before
proceeding with next instruction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
4.1 Mitsubishi PLC system structure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
4.2 Task pool of the PLC program . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
4.4 General hardware configuration of the system . . . . . . . . . . . 21
4.5 Running OPC server (list of signals and their information for the
fixture 56 are shown) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
4.3 Program flowchart for fixtures S056 and S057 . . . . . . . . . . . 24
5.1 DELMIA’s external control interface. To the left, the smaller win-
dow shows the settings for connections. To the right, the larger
window shows the OPC server browser, where the mapping between
OPC tags and DELMIA I/Os is done. The fields to the left show
the different available tags and the field to the right shows the I/Os
of the external control block. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25

5.2 Figure showing an example of the connections of the different de-
vices in the production cell and their respective I/Os. Red arrows
represent inputs while blue arrows are outputs. . . . . . . . . . . 26
A.1 Opening the project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
A.2 Opening the project; setting dialogue box . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
A.3 Communication with OPC server dialogue box . . . . . . . . . . . 33
A.4 Opening the project dialogue box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
A.5 Building the project message box, this message box will appear after
rebuilding the project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
A.6 Transfer to PLC dialogue box settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
A.7 Transfer setup ports for the communication between GX IEC De-
veloper and the PLC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
A.8 Transfer setup project settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
A.9 Resetting the PLC message box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
A.10 Resetting the PLC message box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
A.11 Message box which tells that the project is successfully downloaded
to the PLC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
A.12 12HCPU PLC Module . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
A.13 Start / Stop PLC dialogue box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
A.14 Start / Stop PLC dialogue box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
A.15 Tree view of the PLC program . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
A.16 Figure shows a function block and its related signals in Monitoring
Mode, a yellow outline appears for all signals in Monitoring Mode 40
A.17 Figure shows a function block in Monitoring Mode, for which some
of its signals are activated (they are marked with a yellow filled box) 41
A.18 A dialogue box which value of a WORD type signal could be over-
ridden through . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
A.19 Entry Data Monitor window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
A.20 Object list of the project; desired signal for insertion in the Entry
Data Monitor window can be chosen from the list . . . . . . . . . 42
A.21 Beijer OPC program; how to modify the properties of a controller 43
A.22 Properties dialogue box of the VolvoPLC controller. The IP address
of the PLC will be set in this dialogue box. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
A.23 Running Beijer OPC server window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
List of Tables
4.1 A sample part of Input/Output Mapping List . . . . . . . . . . . 22

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Virtual Commissioning of an Existing

Manufacturing Cell at Volvo Car Corporation

Virtual Commissioning of an Existing Manufacturing Cell at

Master’s Thesis under Master Degree Programme

Department of Signals and Systems

Keywords: Virtual Commissioning, Product Lifecycle Management, DELMIA

, Department of Signals and Systems, Master’s Thesis I

3 Importing Robot Geometry and Programs 14

6 Conclusion & Future work 27

, Department of Signals and Systems, Master’s Thesis III

IV , Department of Signals and Systems, Master’s Thesis

, Department of Signals and Systems, Master’s Thesis 1

– Validating that equipment meets the required cycle time

– Enabling collaboration between engineering disciplines

– Early operator training before startup

– Rapid development of standards

– Evaluation of the PLC code and the robot programs [10]

The industrial requirements for a successful PLM solution are as follows:

– Embeddability: The virtual commissioning environment shall be seam-

2 , Department of Signals and Systems, Master’s Thesis

, Department of Signals and Systems, Master’s Thesis 3

1.2 Cell Description

4 , Department of Signals and Systems, Master’s Thesis

Figure 1.2: Plot plan of the station 13-95-050

, Department of Signals and Systems, Master’s Thesis 5

6 , Department of Signals and Systems, Master’s Thesis

2.1 Cell Layout

, Department of Signals and Systems, Master’s Thesis 7

2.2 Creating Kinematics & Device Building

The workbench called ”Device building” is dedicated to modeling mechanical sys-

8 , Department of Signals and Systems, Master’s Thesis

2.3 Resource Hierarchy

, Department of Signals and Systems, Master’s Thesis 9

2.4 Attachments & Mechanical Ports

10 , Department of Signals and Systems, Master’s Thesis

2.5 Simulation Logic

, Department of Signals and Systems, Master’s Thesis 11

12 , Department of Signals and Systems, Master’s Thesis

, Department of Signals and Systems, Master’s Thesis 13

3.1 Robot Programs

14 , Department of Signals and Systems, Master’s Thesis

2. Contains Arrays of Strings, which are not supported.

, Department of Signals and Systems, Master’s Thesis 15

16 , Department of Signals and Systems, Master’s Thesis

, Department of Signals and Systems, Master’s Thesis 17

4.1 Hardware Preparation

– Power supply module

– Q12HCPU Mitsubishi PLC (High-Performance CPU family)

– QJ71E71 Ethernet interface module (Network module)

4.2 Software Preparation

18 , Department of Signals and Systems, Master’s Thesis

ucture Digital I/O module Network modules

serted in the base unit is deli-

Power supply RUN AX1

e power supply module

nits are available in 4 different 7

th 3 to 12 module slots. Each PULL

an be supplemented by means MELSEC

sion unit providing additional RS-232

to keep open the option of sub-

ots on your base unit, you can

free slots from soiling or from RUN

effects but can also be used POWER